'We thought we'd never get our bed back!'

How one family got their toddler to sleep | Toddler's sleep problems

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As a baby, our 2-year-old Liam was a great sleeper but a few months ago he started waking up in the middle of the night and screaming for me.

I thought it was just a phase so I brought him into bed with us. Big mistake - when I tried to get him back into his own bed a few nights later, he screamed even more.

This went on for weeks and we were exhausted. We didn't really want Liam in our bed every night but we couldn't face the screaming either! I discussed it with a couple of friends at my local toddler group and some of them had had the same thing.

One suggested I bought Liam a special teddy and told him he needed to look after the teddy and give him cuddles at night. Another said I should go to him when he cried but instead of picking him up, just stand at the door and say 'Shhhhh, it's sleep time'. That way, he'd learn I was there but wasn't going to pick him up.

It was really hard at first listening to him cry - I was dying to give in and pick him up. But I didn't and after a few nights, Liam started to understand. The teddy trick worked too so now I use both and we're all sleeping better.
Carrie Wilson, 25, from Coldstream, Berwickshire